Ten of the 12 largest counties in Virginia registered employment increases from March 2017 to March 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Newport News City had the fastest rate of employment growth at 4.1 percent, followed by Loudon County and Prince William County at 2.6 and 2.5 percent, respectively. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Newport News City’s employment growth rate ranked 14^th among the nation’s 349 largest counties. Alexandria City and Virginia Beach City recorded employment declines over the year of 1.2 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 314 of the 349 large counties nationwide gained jobs. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase in employment, up 12.6 percent over the year. Kanawha, W.Va., had the largest employment decrease with a loss of 1.4 percent.

Among the 12 largest counties in Virginia, employment was highest in Fairfax (603,900) in March 2018. No other county in the commonwealth had employment above 200,000. Together, Virginia’s large counties accounted for 56.2 percent of total employment within the commonwealth. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.1 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Richmond City increased 4.4 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, the fastest increase among Virginia’s 12 largest counties. Prince William County had the second largest average weekly wage increase, up 4.0 percent. Arlington County had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the commonwealth at $1,925, followed by Fairfax County ($1,802) and Alexandria City ($1,499). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.7 percent over the year to $1,152 in the first quarter of 2018.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 121 counties in with employment below 75,000. Seven of these 121 counties had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

From the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, 11 of the 12 large counties in Virginia recorded wage increases. Over-the-year gains in Richmond City (4.4 percent) and Prince William County (4.0 percent) ranked 59^th and 85^th, respectively, among the nation’s 349 large U.S. counties.

Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 336 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., had the largest percentage wage increase, (23.8 percent). Of the 13 large U.S. counties with over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages, Forsyth, N.C., had the largest decline at 4.8 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Arlington County had the eighth-highest average weekly wage among the 349 large U.S. counties. Fairfax County and Alexandria City ranked 11^th and 25^th, respectively. Additionally, Richmond City and Loudoun County recorded average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,152.

In Chesapeake City and Virginia Beach City, average weekly wages placed in the bottom fifth of the national ranking at 304^th and 318^th, respectively.

Average weekly wages in Virginia’s smaller counties

Seven of the 121 counties in Virginia with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages higher than the national average of $1,152. Among these smaller counties, Goochland ($2,464), Surry ($1,783) and King George ($1,408) had the highest average weekly wages. Mathews County reported the lowest average weekly wage at $516. (See table 2.)

When all 133 counties in Virginia were considered, 121 had wages below the national average of $1,152. Eleven counties reported wages below $600, 38 had wages from $600 to $699, 33 had wages from $700 to $799, 19 had wages from $800 to $899, and 32 had wages above $900.

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2017 edition of this publication is now available and contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Online will be available in September 2019.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 10.0 million employer reports cover 144.6 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons—some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

 Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 12 largest counties in Virginia, first quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	144,562.9	1.6	--	$1,152	--	3.7	--
Virginia	3,854.4	1.5	--	1,162	14	3.0	30
Alexandria City, Va.	91.5	-1.2	347	1,499	25	2.4	228
Arlington, Va.	175.9	1.2	181	1,925	8	3.9	93
Chesapeake City, Va.	101.1	2.0	103	850	304	2.2	253
Chesterfield, Va.	136.2	1.9	113	942	221	3.1	160
Fairfax, Va.	603.9	1.4	158	1,802	11	3.0	172
Henrico, Va.	189.9	1.3	170	1,113	109	1.5	305
Loudoun, Va.	165.4	2.6	59	1,289	54	3.1	160
Newport News City, Va.	100.7	4.1	14	1,037	153	-2.4	346
Norfolk City, Va.	142.7	0.7	247	1,052	142	2.9	180
Prince William, Va.	128.4	2.5	62	936	226	4.0	85
Richmond City, Va.	155.1	0.7	247	1,308	52	4.4	59
Virginia Beach City, Va.	175.6	-0.2	325	823	318	3.4	132
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	144,562.9	1.6	$1,152	--	3.7	--
Alabama	1,948.9	1.1	919	36	2.9	34
Alaska	311.2	-0.5	1,074	20	2.3	44
Arizona	2,822.5	2.8	1,025	22	3.5	19
Arkansas	1,211.4	0.9	879	44	2.4	40
California	17,152.5	2.1	1,352	6	4.4	6
Colorado	2,639.5	2.5	1,175	11	3.4	22
Connecticut	1,651.9	0.1	1,447	4	2.4	40
Delaware	438.7	1.2	1,202	10	1.3	51
District of Columbia	770.2	1.2	1,917	1	1.9	49
Florida	8,716.8	2.2	988	25	4.1	9
Georgia	4,409.1	2.3	1,095	17	2.3	44
Hawaii	658.4	0.3	974	29	2.3	44
Idaho	712.6	3.5	809	50	4.3	7
Illinois	5,909.3	1.0	1,241	8	3.9	10
Indiana	3,018.8	1.2	954	32	3.9	10
Iowa	1,525.8	0.5	921	35	2.4	40
Kansas	1,370.6	0.2	912	40	2.7	38
Kentucky	1,873.7	0.5	901	41	2.5	39
Louisiana	1,914.7	0.5	932	34	3.0	30
Maine	592.1	0.9	891	43	3.6	16
Maryland	2,646.9	0.9	1,209	9	3.2	26
Massachusetts	3,509.9	1.1	1,510	3	5.6	2
Michigan	4,289.0	1.4	1,078	19	3.4	22
Minnesota	2,823.6	0.7	1,175	11	2.1	47
Mississippi	1,125.9	0.1	765	51	2.1	47
Missouri	2,777.6	0.5	960	31	3.1	28
Montana	455.5	1.0	819	49	2.4	40
Nebraska	966.0	0.4	898	42	3.6	16
Nevada	1,351.6	3.0	977	28	4.8	5
New Hampshire	648.2	0.8	1,122	15	4.9	3
New Jersey	3,997.6	1.3	1,373	5	3.0	30
New Mexico	813.3	1.0	862	47	2.9	34
New York	9,318.9	1.8	1,597	2	3.4	22
North Carolina	4,370.6	1.8	1,022	23	3.0	30
North Dakota	408.2	0.6	988	25	3.7	15
Ohio	5,328.5	0.9	1,005	24	2.9	34
Oklahoma	1,600.9	1.8	914	38	3.5	19
Oregon	1,894.3	2.0	1,026	21	4.3	7
Pennsylvania	5,787.2	1.4	1,115	16	3.4	22
Rhode Island	469.9	1.1	1,086	18	3.2	26
South Carolina	2,067.4	2.2	877	45	1.7	50
South Dakota	417.5	1.0	842	48	2.8	37
Tennessee	2,950.0	1.6	978	27	3.5	19
Texas	12,179.2	2.0	1,168	13	3.9	10
Utah	1,458.8	3.3	949	33	4.9	3
Vermont	307.1	0.4	917	37	3.1	28
Virginia	3,854.4	1.5	1,162	14	3.0	30
Washington	3,316.1	2.8	1,306	7	7.7	1
West Virginia	684.8	0.6	868	46	3.6	16
Wisconsin	2,831.7	1.0	968	30	3.8	14
Wyoming	263.7	0.3	914	38	3.9	10
Puerto Rico	856.7	-3.8	563	(3)	7.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.3	-15.5	969	(3)	24.4	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.